Paid Sick Leave Approved in Montgomery County

The Montgomery County Council has unanimously passed an ordinance that requires employers to begin providing paid sick and safe leave to employees.

If you employ five or more employees in Montgomery County, then starting on Oct. 1, 2016, you will be required to provide up to 56 hours of paid leave per year. If you employ fewer than five employees, then you will be required to provide up to 32 hours of paid leave and 24 hours of unpaid leave.

The bill also specifies that employees can use sick and safe leave under a variety of circumstances, including the following:

To obtain medical treatment for an employee's injury, illness or other medical condition
To obtain preventative treatment for the employee or another person covered under the ordinance
To care for a covered individual with an illness, injury or mental condition
To care for a covered individual when a doctor or other health care professional has said that the covered individual poses a threat to the public
When an employee has to miss work because of a sexual assault, domestic violence incident or stalking incident
When an employee has to miss work because a covered individual needs medical or legal services, or needs to relocate, after a sexual assault, domestic violence incident or stalking incident
When the employer's place of business or the employee's child's school has to close because of a public health emergency

The term "covered individual" is also broadly defined in the ordinance to include employees' children, spouses, siblings, parents, legal guardians, grandparents, grandchildren and others.

To ensure that you as an employer create policies that are in compliance with the new law, don't hesitate to speak with an employment law attorney.